Crossbows and Fletching Your Own Bolts

on October 10, 2012 at 3:50 am
Posted In: Prepping, Prepping on a Budget

Crossbows

crossbows

Crossbows are fun alternative weapons. You can often find crossbows on Craigslist at a reasonable price. Despite some drawbacks, crossbows have a few benefits that are worth noting. Thy are not firearms and may be easier to access in some areas, check your local laws. They are very quiet. If you are ever dependent on hunting to feed yourself, you may not want the rest of the world to hear you take down some big game. You can practice with them in your backyard, even in the city. As with any weapon, always be aware of what is beyond your target. Never fire in a direction where someone could be behind your target. Finally, cost of ammunition is very cheap, provided you can fletch your own bolts.

The biggest major drawback to a crossbow is reload time. It is certainly no match for an AR-15 which could empty a 30 round magazine before the crossbow gets off it’s second shot. The other big drawback is accuracy. The weight of the bolt causes a lot of drop and it is susceptible to wind, because of  the large profile of the bolt.

Fletching Your Own Bolts

crossbows

Taking your arrow or bolts to a shop to have fletched professionally will cost about $1 per bolt. This is pretty cheap if you don’t shoot a lot. Given you can lose a vane (feather) every other shot, it will add up fast. Fletching your own bolt requires very little expertise. Bohning makes a very easy to use fletching jig like the one in the picture for about $27.

The first step is to prepare your bolt by removing any excess adhesive from the previous vane.

crossbows

 

Next, you can place the vane in the guide and apply an adhesive like Fletch-tite evenly to the bottom. Then line up the guide on the jig. Allow it to set for about 2 minutes. Remove the guide, turn the base of the jig one click and repeat. Repeat once more and you will have all 3 vanes on your bolt. Allow the adhesive at least one hour to cure before shooting or stowing the bolt.

crossbows  crossbows

 

Another great project that is very cheap is to make your own quiver. This quiver was made using two Pringles cans, a length of para-cord and some digital camo duct tape. Cut out the bottom of one of your cans. Line up the bottomless can over the other can and connect with duct tape. Cover the rest of the surface with the duct tape. Make a couple holes and string  through enough para-cord to make a shoulder strap. I also put a quick coat of black spray paint on the lid, and there it is.

 

Make your crossbow tacti-cool by accessorizing it with a  flash light affixed with some electrical tape.

crossbows

 

You can purchase several different tips for your bolts. Broad heads typically have 3 or 4 razor type blades that come to a point. They are for large game and will stay in your target. There are regular target tips  for Styrofoam targets. The ones that look like a claw are made for small game, but work great for targets as they will not burrow deep into a home made plywood target. My target is a thick piece of plywood with several layers of cardboard attached with wood screws. Print out a free target from the web and you are ready to shoot. Always be safe and have fun.

 

Leave a comment and let us know what alternative weapons you use.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Marc Faber Interview- Financial Survival

on October 8, 2012 at 4:00 am
Posted In: Economy

Marc Faber Interview

Marc Faber

Dr. Marc Faber is an investor born in Switzerland and the publisher of The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report. He holds a PhD in economics and serves as a director or an adviser on several investment funds.

In this interview with One Radio Network, Marc Faber discusses several threats to our economic future. Dr Faber speaks a bit on the role of the Federal Reserve. He says that the attempt by the Fed to prop up the housing market will not be as successful as they anticipate.  The Fed creates liquidity by constant quantitative easing which is electronic money printing. Once the liquidity has been created, there is no way to insure the money flows into the intended direction. In fact, much of the money has been flowing back into United States treasuries. This creates an unintended consequence of a treasury bubble.

Marc Faber goes on to comment on what he perceives to be a derivatives bubble. Several commentators have estimated the world derivatives market to be between $400 trillion and a quadrillion. Just when I got my mind around a trillion, I  have to mentally digest a quadrillion. Traders will tell you that despite its size, the derivatives market poses no threat to our financial system. They will tell you that it is a zero sum game, meaning that for every $1 bet  that a derivative will go up, there is a counter $1 bet that it will go down. Before 2008, we may have blindly believed them. In 2008, we learned that mega insurance agency AIG was writing Credit Default Swaps for much more downside risk than what they were able to cover. Since this act was considered by regulators to be mispricing of risk rather than criminal, they were bailed out rather than locked up. Since they were bailed out, the lesson learned was ” lose all the money you want, we’ll print more.” The free market has been prevented from being able to bring about the creative destruction that needs to occur in order to clear out bad investments to make room for the good. Now we have a derivatives time bomb that threatens to dwarf the 2008 crisis.

Mark Faber gives some good recommendations about protecting yourself from market volatility. He recommends diversity and hard assets as the future is so uncertain. Marc Faber has long been a believer in owning gold to manage risks from inflation and currency collapse.

Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought of the Marc Faber interview. Also let us know your favorite financial advisers.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Sunday Prepper Bible Study- The Ant and the Grasshopper

on October 7, 2012 at 4:34 am
Posted In: Bible

Sunday Prepper Bible Study- The Ant and the Grasshopper

bible

Proverbs 6:6-8 says “Go tot the ant you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

Proverbs 30:25 tells us a little bit about their ways. It says “Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer”.

The story of “the Ant and the Grasshopper” is an age old fable written by Aesop. It seems we hear it less now than before in America; perhaps we have changed our narrative for the worse. Perhaps we have turned into a society of grasshoppers who think they have outsmarted the ants and the story no longer applies. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it goes like this:

Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow.

ant All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer’s field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head. She would put the grain of wheat carefully away in her larder, and then hurry back to the field for another one. All day long she would work, without stop or rest, scurrying back and forth from the field, collecting the grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.

The grasshopper would look at her and laugh. ‘Why do you work so hard, dear ant?’ he would say. ‘Come, rest a while, listen to my song. Summer is here, the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labor and toil?’

grasshopperThe ant would ignore him, and head bent, would just hurry to the field a little faster. This would make the grasshopper laugh even louder. ‘What a silly little ant you are!’ he would call after her. ‘Come, come and dance with me! Forget about work! Enjoy the summer! Live a little!’ And the grasshopper would hop away across the meadow, singing and dancing merrily.

Summer faded into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The sun was hardly seen, and the days were short and grey, the nights long and dark. It became freezing cold, and snow began to fall.

The grasshopper didn’t feel like singing any more. He was cold and hungry. He had nowhere to shelter from the snow, and nothing to eat. The meadow and the farmer’s field were covered in snow, and there was no food to be had. ‘Oh what shall I do? Where shall I go?’ wailed the grasshopper. Suddenly he remembered the ant. ‘Ah – I shall go to the ant and ask her for food and shelter!’ declared the grasshopper, perking up. So off he went to the ant’s house and knocked at her door. ‘Hello ant!’ he cried cheerfully. ‘Here I am, to sing for you, as I warm myself by your fire, while you get me some food from that larder of yours!’

The ant looked at the grasshopper and said, ‘All summer long I worked hard while you made fun of me, and sang and danced. You should have thought of winter then! Find somewhere else to sing, grasshopper! There is no warmth or food for you here!’ And the ant shut the door in the grasshopper’s face.

It is wise to worry about tomorrow today.

I think as we look around, our economy is showing us signs that winter is coming soon. The advice of God’s word is just as applicable today as it was when it was written. The verses tell us to learn from the ant who stores up provisions for itself when there are provisions to be had. There is no promise that we will have the abundant selections at the super market tomorrow. There is no promise that we will have the luxury of running water or a common currency. So look to the ant and prepare for tomorrow.

As preppers, we often break our operational security to try to motivate others to prepare. Even those that agree that the system is unsustainable are rarely ready to do any thing about it. We regularly hear ” I am coming to your house when it all goes down.” That is when I tell them the ant and the grasshopper story. Unfortunately, some people are going to be grasshoppers. You can plan to help some of them, but the reality is you won’t be able to help them all.

As Christians, we will often hear “God will take care of us if everything breaks down”. That is the perfect time to say:  “He already has. He has given us the Bible that teaches us to be prepared.” Over and over, we hear the call to be prepared in the Bible and especially in the book of Proverbs. Our responsibility starts with our own household. To put our family in jeopardy by giving away the provisions we have set aside for them is wrong. The Bible says in I Timothy 5:8 “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Plan to put away as much as you can to help others, but remember your family is your first priority.

We can also take away quite a bit from Proverbs 30:25.  It tells us that ants are small and not very strong. Even thought they can carry several times their own weight, they are very limited by their size and strength. What they lack in physical ability, they more than make up for in diligence. Through their wisdom and planing, they are able to persevere through the winter despite their limitations. Maybe your limitations are a tight budget. By buying few extra items each time you go to the grocery, you can quickly build  a great stock pile. Using coupons will really help as well. Check out our Coupon Corner to learn how or to get tips on improving your couponing skills.

God is in the habit of providing for us when we can’t, but He gave us the Bible which tells us to do what we can when we can. Read our comprehensive 7 Step Preparedness Plan to learn how to be more like the ant and build a foundation for readiness.

Happy Prepping!

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DNC: Communist or Socialist?

on October 5, 2012 at 4:17 am
Posted In: Constitution, Potential Threats

DNC: Communist or Socialist?

Until recently, I, like many Americans were under the impression that the Democratic Party was socialist. They have historically been in favor of bigger government, more handouts, and higher taxes. It has primarily been democrats who have supported legislation that increases regulation and dictates how, when and where we are to live our lives. They were once considered the opposition party to military overstretch, but Obama merely shifted the focus of one war to another. During his first 2 years of office, the Democrats held the Oval Office, the House, and the Senate. Yet we still have an estimated 662 foreign military bases spread out over 38 countries. They also failed to cut any significant amount from the $700 billion in military spending. That is about 28% of our entire national revenue for 2012. It is more than the entire rest of the world put together.

This post is not about slamming the democrats. It is more about defining them. After watching the following video, I think you will agree that many in their numbers have shifted from socialist to communist. This video was made by Peter Schiff who is a Libertarian. He posed as a socialist democrat at the Democratic National Convention to see how many people were in favor of banning corporate profits. By nature, this is total communism. Even socialist societies recognize the need for a company to generate a profit. Without profits, there are no companies and the government must do everything. The butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker are all extensions of the government. When there are no profits, there is no motivation  for anyone to do anything in a society except that which is forced upon them from a complete control system such as the one that now exists in North Korea. Even communist China allows for profit sharing between the government and corporations.

You can plainly see that several of the people interviewed are probably not capable of tying their own shoe laces. That is a huge part of the problem. They blindly follow whatever they are told to do. This is what they have been taught they must do to protect their government handouts. Several others are genuine communist. The best the party line socialist could do was “put a cap on profits” which is an extremely far leftist brand of socialist.

For those that think there is no difference in Romney and Obama, I hope this article has been an eye opener. Romney is far from perfect, but in this contest, he is the cleanest dirty shirt. Prepper Recon is not affiliated with  The Democratic Party nor The Republican Party. We consider ourselves Christian Constitutionalists. Our primary set of beliefs comes from the Bible and our secondary set of beliefs comes from the Constitution. The candidate that would have best represented those 2 documents would have been Ron Paul, but the people have spoken and he is not a choice. Perhaps people will wake up in the years to come and we will turn around. Or perhaps we will continue our march to the grave.

Peter Schiff has a great radio show that offers a Libertarian view on economics and politics Monday through Friday on Schiff Radio. He has also written some good books including his latest, The Real Crash. It is a great read. I highly recommend it, and you can purchase it from Amazon through the link on the right side bar of this page. He speaks about the challenges we are facing and suggest how we can protect ourselves economically.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Threat Assessment- Loss Of National Sovereignty

on October 3, 2012 at 3:15 am
Posted In: Constitution, Potential Threats

Threat Assessment- Loss Of National Sovereignty

national sovereignty

 

I don’t think many of Americans spend much time thinking about National Sovereignty. This is probably the primary reason it is a threat. Even some practical preppers are a bit dismissive to the threat to national sovereignty. Many seem to regard it as a tin foil hat topic. As you might expect, we hear very little about national sovereignty in the mainstream media outlets on either side of the political fence.

Fortunately, there are a few patriots standing on the wall with their eyes wide open.  Conservative Constitutionalist Senator Rand Paul has led the charge against Hillary Clinton  who has strongly advocated the UN Arms Trade Treaty which has been reported to contain language that would interfere with or override our 2cnd Amendment. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was successful in gathering enough support against ratifying the treaty that it was not agreed upon. Senator Rand Paul has also fought against foreign aid which is used as bribe money that is usually paid out to enemy states. He may be our best hope for freedom in the 2016 Presidential election.

More recently, Fox News has reported on the UN’s aspirations of a global tax. In this article from FoxNews.com, it is reported that the UN is seeking to tax all billionaires at a rate of 1%. They are seeking to tax all currency trading in US dollars, Euros, Yen, and Pound Sterling. The UN is also seeking to tax mineral resources that are extracted more than 100 miles away from any country’s shore.

This would be a major power grab by the UN and entitle them to taxes from deep sea oil rigs. Once their foot is in the door, they will pry themselves into every area of our lives and decimate our national sovereignty. Tax revenues are often used to raise armies. Perhaps they are positioning themselves for the inevitable collapse of the US economy. With taxing authority, they could easily build a military and step into the power vacuum left by the meltdown of the US. At any rate, granting taxing authority to the UN is a step in the direction of a one world government, loss of US national sovereignty and global governance.

There is someone else who is seeking to raise taxes; Lubbock County Judge Tom Head is looking to raise extra revenue for his county. His reasons are quite different from those of the UN. This Texas Judge  is looking to train and arm his sheriffs department to stand up to UN troops in the event of an unconstitutional surrender of national sovereignty by the Executive branch.  Here is the video from the Lubbock Fox affiliate, FOX 34.

Stay awake preppers. The Bible says “The complacency of fools will destroy them” Proverbs 1:32.  Our freedom wasn’t free; we owe it to those who gave everything, to guard it with vigilance. Write your Congressman and Senators and let them know you want the UN out of America and you want America out of the UN!

Happy Prepping!

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Ron Paul Lecture

on October 1, 2012 at 4:55 am
Posted In: Constitution, Economy

Ron Paul Lecture- ” The Great Enabler: The Rise of the Federal Reserve and the Growth Of Government”

Ron Paul

 

In this lecture, Ron Paul speaks about the role of the Federal Reserve in growing the government. He explains how the Fed’s easy money policies have allowed Congress and the President to continue in their bad behavior. The money printed by the Federal Reserve helps to prop up welfare programs that create dependents rather than self sufficient citizens. The bond buying by the Federal Reserve also finances our $700 billion dollar a year military habit.

Ron Paul has been asking American to wake up for more than 30 years. He has been sounding the alarm to warn us of the lack of financial responsibility in our federal government. He speaks against bloated military budgets and the amount of money wasted on being the police of the world. He also criticizes the irrational welfare system that rewards the unproductive and punishes the productive in our society. He is retiring after this term in Congress, but his ideas will keep working.

He has urged Congress to return to our constitution on many levels. He has been especially adamant about returning to constitutional sound money. Our forefathers knew the unsustainable nature of fiat currency. They witnessed the currency crash of the Continental currency. It was nearly worthless by the end of the Revolutionary War. This is one of the reasons they wrote the coinage act of 1792. It prescribed death to anyone who debased the currency.

If you have never read The Revolution, a Manifesto by Ron Paul, I encourage you to pick up a copy today. It may challenge some ideas that you believe, but don’t know why you believe them. You may find that you have been seeing everything through a Democrat or Republican worldview. Even if you disagree with Dr. Paul on some issues, it will make you think, and that is what is important to keep our Republic.

Happy Prepping!

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Sunday Prepper Bible Study- Prepping in The Bible

on September 30, 2012 at 5:09 am
Posted In: Bible, Prepping

Sunday Prepper Bible Study

Today is the first post of a new series where we will be gleaning  some wisdom from The Bible, the best selling book of all times. The Bible is filled with practical wisdom and great examples of preparedness. It is full of real adventures where God has guided His followers to prepare for disasters and examples of His grace miraculously providing for them in tough situations. As much as God gives me the inspiration, I will try to post a study every Sunday.

The book of Proverbs has lots of great advice on prepping. Proverbs was written by King Solomon who is said to have been the wisest man who ever lived. When asked by God what he desired most, rather than riches or a long life, Solomon asked for wisdom to be a good leader over the nation of Israel. God was so impressed with Solomon’s request, He granted him the wisdom he had asked for and also fame and fortune. What a blessing it would be for our country to have a leader like King Solomon who would seek wisdom from God to lead us. You can read the account of Solomon’s request in The Bible, in I Kings 3.

Proverbs 21:20 says: ” In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil; but the foolish man devours all he has”.  this verse is deep. It speaks to the overall wisdom of prepping. The idea of having something more in your pantry than what you need for the next two days is very clear. Solomon recommends having “stores” of food. That is plural. There is no specific number of months worth of food mentioned , but I would say, do what you can. One month is wiser than one week. Two months is wiser than one. If you have the space, a years worth of food storage that won’t go bad is better than 6 months.

Bible

The Bible contrasts this wisdom with the foolishness of those who consume everything they get their hands on. Our easy credit society has seen the consequences of this mentality as many people borrowed what they could never repay. This borrowing created the housing collapse which was the first domino of the crisis we are still experiencing. Not only do we consume all we have, we have went beyond that and, through credit, consume our resources for tomorrow.

The easy lesson from The Bible in this verse from Proverbs is to live below your means. Reduce your level of consumption so you will have something for a rainy day. Many say The Bible is an antiquated book that has no relevance to our present times. Never has this principle been more applicable than for today. The storm clouds are still brewing and the future will not be kind to the unprepared.

If you are new to prepping or would like to learn more about how to save for tomorrow, please read our 7 Step Preparedness Plan.

Happy Prepping!

 

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Peak Oil- Threat Assessment

on September 28, 2012 at 3:17 am
Posted In: Potential Threats

Peak Oil- Threat Assessment

Peak Oil is a concept that has been around for some time. The idea is that all of the oil in the world was created over vast amounts of time and is being consumed very quickly. There are varying degrees of belief in this threat.  Like climate change, most people subscribe to one extreme or the other. You will hear people tell you that the end is near and others that tell you there is no problem at all. As with many things, the truth probably lies at some point in between the two extreme stances. Unfortunately, there is very little you can learn from the far right that are in complete denial about peak oil. That leaves us with mostly propaganda from the far left environmentalist to try to glean some truth from.

This video will give you a good understanding of the perceived threat of peak oil. It has a very leftist slant, but the only thing we can get from the  right is total denial of the issue. Sometimes you have to eat the grapes and spit out the seeds.

Regardless of which side of the peak oil fence you are on, we can see that gas prices are rising. These price increases are much more that just the geopolitical landscape or inflation. Both of those factors greatly affect the price of gas, but production costs have gone up astronomically.  We are having to drill for oil in deeper and deeper waters. We are having to resort to fracking and other more expensive extraction methods. Most of these technologies have production costs of $80 a barrel or more. At prices below that, production ceases.  At $150 a barrel, there is quite a bit of oil. Higher oil prices allow companies to spend more to extract oil.

Peak Oil is less about running out of oil and more about running out of cheap oil. This is not as dramatic as waking up tomorrow and there is no more gas. The negative effects come from increasing energy prices that take more and more from family budgets. As more is spent on essentials, less is left for saving, investments and discretionary spending. The real threat of peak oil is economic. On of the catalyst for the 2008 market crash was $150 oil. All of the other factors were already there prior to 2008.  Americans were spending 103% of their income, subprime loans were defaulting, credit was drying up and home prices had been falling for over a year. The price shock from skyrocketing oil initiated the confidence crisis. The crash still would have come, but it was intensified by the oil price shock.

Rising oil prices affect every part of our lives. Unless you are 100% self sufficient, whatever you buy at the store got there on a truck that uses oil. Higher transportation costs drive up the costs of everything. Most products we buy are wrapped in plastic or made of plastic, an oil derivative. Tires, roads and fertilizers all use oil as a major component in there manufacturing.

Ten years ago, gas prices were right around $1.50 a gallon.  We are just under $4.00 where I live at the time of this writing. That is an 166% increase  in ten years. If prices continue to increase at there present rate, the price would be $10.67 in 2022 and $28.44 a gallon in 2032, just 20 years from now. This puts a pretty serious damper on the possibility of growth in our economy. Those  prices are assuming the best. They assume there is no major conflicts in the middle east, there is no hyperinflationary economic environment, and the 2 billion Chinese and Indians are content to keep riding bicycles rather than wanting cars.

The challenge of peak oil alone is life changing for America. If we had no $16 trillion dollar debt, Obama Care, or empire creep to pay for, we would have about all we could handle. If you haven’t read our 7 Step Preparedness Plan, please read it. The sooner you start to prepare, the better equipped you will be to handle the changes that are coming our way.

Happy Prepping!

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